First Contact? Must Be Tuesday
by Courier999
Summary: During a routine operation in the South Atlantic, the crew of the SSRN Seaview (literally) run into Ariel and by extension the underwater kingdom of Atlantica. Unfortunately for them, they soon find themselves with ringside seats for Ursula's power play, ultimately pitting ancient dark magic against the most advanced submarine ever built. Rated T for language and violence. R&R!


VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA: First Contact? Must Be Tuesday

_Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea_, _The Little Mermaid (1989)_ and all related characters are property of Disney.

* * *

In memory of René Auberjonois (1940-2019) and Kirk Douglas (1914-2020)

With apologies to Ron Clements, John Musker, and Irwin Allen

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Chapter 1: First Impressions

_Somewhere in the South Atlantic, mid-1980s_

To a casual observer, the expression on the young red-haired mermaid could only be one thing– the agony of a splitting headache. All throughout the water, she could hear a distinctive pinging noise growing ever closer and closer.

"Um, Ariel? Maybe we should go and do someth–" a yellow-and-blue-striped fish began.

"What's that, Flounder?" Ariel replied, her hands clasped over her ears.

"I said, maybe we should go and do something else, hopefully where it's not nearly as lo–"

The poor fish's statement was abruptly cut off as he saw a shape enter his and Ariel's line of sight. There, in the distance before them, was the vague outline of a colossal sleek gray mass slowly advancing.

"What is that thing?!" he asked.

As the shape grew closer, Ariel's eyes lit up as her unyielding curiosity flared once again.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out!" she proudly proclaimed before swimming off like a rocket, headache be damned.

* * *

_SSRN_ Seaview– _a few nautical miles away_

"…swear on my mother's grave this job'll be the end of me…" a stockily-built man with a bulky set of headphones atop his head groused as he looked at a slowly-updating model of the seafloor beneath him.

Just then, he noticed something on the nearby main sonar monitor– a small inbound contact, no bigger than a dolphin, proceeding at a decent clip of about 7 to 8 knots.

_Lessee here– factoring in contact's speed, plus direction and speed of currents, gives us an ETA of…_

Just then, there was a _THUNK!_ from the direction of the observation deck below as _something_ collided with the submarine head-on.

* * *

A lone crewman on the observation deck blinked as he took in the sight before him. There, just outside the pressurized hull, was a redheaded mermaid with her face flattened against one of deck's four windows, her gaze firmly focused on the crewman in question. Near as he could tell, her expression was one of curiosity, as if he was some hitherto undiscovered species of butterfly, a relic of some long-lost civilization, or a particularly shiny rock. For what seemed like an eternity, the two stared at each other as if trying to make sense of their counterpart until the crewman deigned to break it with a friendly wave, with the mermaid soon returning the gesture before swimming up and away.

_…why do I have the feeling we'll be seeing her again?_ he thought as he continued to gaze out into the open ocean sprawling out before him.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Yes, we have another wacky crossover and evidence that I have far too much free time on my hands. As for the logic behind this fic's existence, the original impetus was "_Little Mermaid_ with sci-fi elements", which in turn mutated into what you're currently reading. If you're wondering where the title came from, it's the fact that the _Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea_ TV series back in the '60s got really really _weird_ as it went on, to the point where making contact with a civilization of merfolk could be considered (relatively) normal for the crew of the _Seaview_. Regarding the timeframe, chalk that up to Irwin Allen setting the events of the TV series in the-then distant 1978 (for the record, the show itself began airing in 1964 and ran until 1967), with the final seasons being set in the early '80s. And speaking of settings, the _Little Mermaid_ portion is less my usual duly and quasi-diligently researched standard and more "best guesses and a hodgepodge of details from the '92 TV series held together by chewing gum and baling wire".

And on one final note regarding the dedications, I am fully aware that the late Kirk Douglas wasn't involved with either _Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea_ or _The Little Mermaid_, but considering he _was_ in the 1954 Disney adaptation of _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_, he earns a nod in my book. As for René Auberjonois (who you might remember as Father Mulcahy from _MASH_ (the 1970 film version, not the TV series), Odo from _Deep Space 9_, or Mr. House from _Fallout: New Vegas_), he was in _The Little Mermaid_ as Chef Louis, aka that French cook who chases Sebastian while singing "Les Poissons".


End file.
